


[Translation] King of the Race

by isaakfvkampfer



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Humor, Translation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-03 02:10:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14558559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isaakfvkampfer/pseuds/isaakfvkampfer
Summary: Chancellor Palpatine was abducted by surprise and the one-man cavalry coming to his rescue turned out to be none other than Anakin Skywalker.





	[Translation] King of the Race

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [[星战]真正的飙车少年](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14241765) by [lesliecaviezel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesliecaviezel/pseuds/lesliecaviezel). 



> Translator's notes:  
> If there's any mistakes, plz let me know.
> 
> In Darth Plagueis and Wild Space, it was mentioned Palpatine was really good at racing. Palpatine and his future Master's first date was on the younger man's fancy speeder.

**King of the Race**

Lesliecaviezel

“Master Obi-Wan, I believe the other Masters were misguided by those inaccurate tips,” Anakin spoke into the comm link pinched between two fingers while busy steering the hulky freighter through the dense smoke in the abandoned industrial district of Coruscant with a discretion rarely seen in him.

“I do appreciate your input, Anakin,” Obi-Wan’s voice came from the other side. “But in view of that the majority of the council drew another conclusion, we cannot sponsor your courageous adventure with more aid. The manpower is mostly directed to the underworld as per clues.”

That didn’t discourage the younger man a bit, because next his voice rang across the walls of the Temple room where Obi-Wan was in with indifference, electromagnetic interference not with standing.

“It’s not like they ever listened to me,” Anakin complained. “Especially on something like this. Not a chance.”

“Anakin...” Obi-Wan started, then bit his tongue. He didn’t like it, but Anakin did have a point. However, it was unwise to comment on it when the situation was dire. So he sighed and changed  the topic. “What’s your status anyway? Anything out of order?”

“Everything is out of order down here, Master, the _infamous_ Coruscant Industrial District. Here. There. I’m not exaggerating when I say that every rusty door hides a seedy past and some long-forgotten foul play.”

Obi-Wan could imagine Anakin –hands off the wheel- pointed in all directions, disregarding air safety. He rubbed the knots between his eyebrows, his cold fingertips providing the stimulation he just needed. “I apologize that the council can’t satisfy all parties, Anakin. Concen-”

“-concentrate on the current mission, the most pressing matter. Yep, I know. I’m more concerned about the Chancellor’s well-being than that of the criminal cartels – well, at least until we guarantee his excellency’s safety.”

“Thank the Force that comforted my aged heart,” Obi-Wan glanced at the screen monitoring the commando team Mace Windu was leading. They just cracked open a trap-door in some filthy pub –one of many that thrived in this nest of criminal activities- and thoughly searched the backalley to no avail.

Sometimes the shadiest darkness was openly exposed to the seemingly brightest surface, and you could do nothing about it.

An excited hiss pulled Obi-Wan’s mind back to the present.

“I think I see something,” Anakin lowered his voice and said with clear urgency. “There, the high tower under construction... Yes! It’s the Chancellor! I am sure of it!”

That snapped Obi-Wan into full attention. “Steady, Anakin. Stay at where you are, I am dispatching-“

His words were again interrupted by Anakin. “No, they’re going to execute him! I need to-”

A burst of deafening boom followed by some buzzes of cracking sparks, then the line was dead.

“Anakin? Anakin!” Obi-Wan dropped the now useless comm link and cursed inwardly before standing up to update the other councilors next door. He couldn’t help crossing fingers and hoping that this time Anakin’s bold movement could save the day as usual.

***

To be honest, Palpatine had been contemplating whether or not he should use the Force since the moment he had got abducted.

The abduction indeed caught him off guard. The Sith Master was willing to swore to the Late Magister Damask that he was not behind it, nor was it his loyal apprentice’s doing, or some lieutenants stupid enough to consider it the perfect plan to flatter him. It was pure coincidence that he got abducted by an unknown party. It’s without doubt! For these gangsters –no, the right definition is _shameless thugs_ \- dared to ruin his most glorious Naboonian robes in their hurry to subdue him!

Intended or not, their uncivilized actions were beyond forgiveness, Palpatine thought. After all, the sacred Naboonian fashion sense was inviolable.

What infuriated him even more was that these thugs were too stupid to realize the value of the beloved Supreme Chancellor of the Galatic Republic, politically or physically. How could they abduct him to this construction site in the middle of nowhere and did nothing to him before rushing into executing him?

Palpatine had reached out through the Force and found out that the tower was not far from the warehouse where he had used to meet with Lord Tyranus –so it was not really in the middle of nowhere- but Lord Tyranus was no doubt waiting for his orders far away on his bed on Serenno. There was no way he could summon his apprentice to do his bidding. So he was left no choice but to use the Dark Side of the Force to solve the matter. It was going to be messy, and it was on these morons.

The man in front of him raised the blaster and Palpatine silently counted down: 3, 2, 1-

Bang!

A freighter bumped through the half-built walls and brought several thugs down before blaster fire thundered across the empty room. Palpatine didn’t hesitate to roll out of the way and hid the Dark Side that nearly burst out of him. It was a close call, but in such tense moment when violance disturbed the Force greatly, it was unlikely that his savior could pick up on the slight trace of the Darkness.

The Sith Lord was a bit disappointed that someone ruined his rare chance of freeing his true self, but a glance at the intruder instantly lightened his mood. It’s Skywalker, Hero of No Fear, Jedi’s Chosen One, his future apprentice.

He reminded himself not to get ahead of himself. Anyway, it was the now and then that demanded his attention.

Palpatine stood up in a hurry and tried in vain to clean his ruined robes of the ashes before walking across the bodies scattered around to reach the Jedi.

“Thank the Force, Anakin, it is good to see you! I am sorry you have to crash the ship for me,” he eyed the smoking ship full of fresh holes. “I am afraid these criminals have back-ups nearby. We have to leave immediately.”

“Don’t worry, Your Excellency,” Anakin clapped on the hull. “She is quite sturdy, though a little bit shabby -” he hissed and removed his hands out of the way where fire cracked through the holes after his love pat on her.

“It seems you’re right, Chancellor,” Anakin spotted several black dots coming closer in the sky. “We can’t stay here. Anyway, where’s the fun in that?”

He extended his hands to show the older man the double-seat, domed speeder that had belonged to the thugs. “After you, sir.”

***

In the middle of nowhere with enemies on hot pursuit, the Jedi and the politician faced an acid test. Luckily, Anakin who had championed in the Boonta Eve Classic Podrace at the the age of nine had no reason to fear an impromptu race.

It’s not like he hadn’t done anything like that in the following years.

The familiar roar of the engine left no place for apprehension. The speeder shot into the sky and fell ahead of the pursuers. In no time, it started to activate invasive maneuvers, for the enemies weren’t going to leave them alone. Anakin and Palpatine locked eyes for a moment before drew the same conclusion.

Anakin’s skills were unrivalled, but even he couldn’t shake off a dozen of pursuers unscratched. They barely evaded direct hits but several beams scorched the speeder’s dome.

“Thrilling,” Palpatine feinted, voice almost drowned in the noises. “Thank the Force we have a dome.”

His words might have been seen as some ill omen because as soon as he finished speaking, the speeder shook a little –the result of several direct hits- and their dome cracked and was torn off their vehicle, spiralling backwards into one of the pursuing speeder’s dome. Anakin shouted into his companion’s ear even louder. “Too shame it is gone now.”

Palpatine thought about the laser beams hitting everywhere and decided to let the matter drop as his head did.

***

If anything, it was good to know that what the thugs lacked in the art of abduction they made up for in driving skills. It seemed that eons had past but not a single one of the pursuing vessels beside the one hit by the broken dome was shaken off. The sky around the Industrial District was clear, so Anakin had no way of getting rid of them.

Palpatine, safe in his shot-gun seat, couldn’t help imagining the scenario where Anakin never turned up to “rescue” him. If it was up to him, in the face of the unrelenting pursuers, he might have to smash those speeders down on the ground with the Force. It was safer and more efficient after all.

It was no use indulging in a past that was never going to happen, so Palpatine raised his drooping head to observe the road ahead. They were approaching the busier districts now. Compared to the Industrial District, it was much more safer -

-presuming they could get through the-

“It’s too narrow!” Anakin’s high pitched warning finally surpassed the howling of the wind. Palpatine fully knew what kind of evasive maneuver the Jedi was going to take, but his heart still dropped because it seemed they forgot something vital.

“The tractor field! The button! Anakin, _push_ it!” Palpatine doubted anyone alive had ever heard of him shouting this loud.

The speeder was going to go vertical, and without a tractor, they would be thrown off the domeless vehicle and kissed the wall of one of the buildings ahead in high speed.

Anakin’s hands were still on the wheel and he was on the verge of steering the speeder off balance. “Button? What button? Oh kriff it’s too late-”

The narrow channel looked like an abyss horizonal just waiting to devour them. Anakin had no choice but to stick to the original plan. He turned the wheel.

He didn’t expect a Supreme Chancellor to suddenly drape over him and push a red button that he had never realized existed. The tractor field was activited at last minute which saved the two men from a fate of being the newest painting of the building. Relieve and gravity dropped them back to their seats.

The speeder flew through the tunnel without incident. That didn’t mean Anakin couldn’t feel the lingering fear from their near-death experience. “Than-thanks, Your Excellency.”

Palpatine smiled genially. “It’s all right, Anakin. But do remember next time when you decide to go street racing: fasten your seat belt. Safe driving habits can save lives, yours and others.”

“I’ll keep it in mind, sir,” chastened, Anakin dipped his head like a good padawan.

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine smiled.

***

Finally leaving the ghost town, they were one step closer to the Fedral District where it was much safer. Unfortunately, Anakin and Palpatine weren’t the only people aware of this. The cornered thugs started to go desperate. They opened fire in the busy airway. Their stray blaster fire hit the unshielded windows, explosions causing broken durasteel splinters to fly everywhere. Anakin had to slip through speeders driven by those panicked citizens. The only good thing came from it was that there was no way the rescue team would miss them, Palpatine thought.

“I’ll not rest until I bring these thugs into justice!” Anakin exclaimed. Fear from the innocent citizens led the Force into turmoil and Anakin was deeply affected by it.

“Careful, Anakin!” Palpatine’s warning pierced through his Force perception.

Danger...?

“Ah!” Anakin let out a pained cry. One of the stray blaster fire burned his arm, and without proper steering, the speeder spun into an uncontrolled descension. Destination: a building. No, the Chancellor was still on the vehicle, he couldn’t afford to die...

The speeder shook a few times, made a dive before a hard turn at a intersection, and finally disappeared. If the pursuers weren’t scattered, they might pull to a stop and looked at each other in confusion, but they were, so they just maintained their current courses and continued to hurry.

“Your Excellency!” Anakin was stunned to find Palpatine again draping over his legs again who had just steered them out of the harm’s way with dexterity.

“Move aside, Anakin. You can’t drive now. Let me.” Palpatine calmly ordered.

Fortunately Anakin wasn’t that stunned that he couldn’t process logic of the other man’s words. “Yes, sir.”

Upon seeing Anakin secure himself in his new seat, Palpatine brought the speeder into a U-turn and sped up to where they shook off the enemies. “Trying to intercept us at the exit? Not a chance!” Palpatine commented light-heartedly when he drove the speeder up-side-down, sliding past the bottom of one of the enemies’ speeders, forcing it into a hard brake and turning in the middle of the crowded airway. As a result, they got tangled really bad with the stream. Anakin swore he was not hallucinating –he definitely heard Palpatine laughed in delight.

The most surprising thing was not that the Chancellor could fly a speeder, but he seemed to be familiar with the terrain here. He never missed a turn in this complex urban planet. They were in one of the older districts where the buildings were dense. Palpatine deliberately drove them to the loading dock and ventured past dropping containers one by one, foot never leaving the accelerator.

Anakin could barely open his eyes. They were driving at double speed as they should have been. How came the Chancellor –oh Force another container– be able to fly past the container and evade their siblings which seemed to be everywhere –for Force’s sake they came _this_ close to being smashed into meat paste- into safety? The Chancellor was playing with fire! Anakin’s jaw literally dropped and he ate a gust of wind before shrinking smaller in his seat, nursing his wounded arm. Dangerous, yet efficient. More than half of the pursuing speeders crashed in this area alone. Anakin took it to his heart and planned to try it when he had to.

To the Jedi’s relief, the crazy container evading adventure didn’t last very long. The speeder flew above the recycling factory, leaving their unfortunate pursuers far behind. Their destination was dead ahead; the skyscapers of the Federal District looked especially lovely today. Soon, they would be out of danger!

Palpatine pulled them up into the sky. “Chancellor, look out!” Anakin warned aloud and curled up even tighter in his seat to avoid the desperate blaster fire raining down.

Palpatine calmly glanced backwards and said, “brace yourself, Anakin.”

A foreboding feeling hit him, but before he could fully digest its meaning with his brain, his body was caught in a menacing daze. One minute he felt himself sprawling face up, the next he was staring down into the rooftops. That was not even the worst. In the end he had the most peculiar feeling that when he was up-side-down, his organs tried to dive into the ground when the vessel holding them decided to float upwards. It turned out that Palpatine, in an effort to avoid being hit, was spiraling in the process of rising near vertically, coiling away from the flow of traffic and hard buildings. If it was not playing with fire, nothing else was!

The Galatic Senate was in the field of vision, and their wild movements no doubt drew the right attention. The Senate defence ships belatedly arrived and started returning fire.

Anakin breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, a peice of shrapnel lightly landed near the right thruster and got sucked in. Black smoke puffed out of the clanking thruster and the speeder shook like it was falling apart. Palpatine looked over to the giant dome of the Senate building that was coming near and near. He didn’t hesitate to cut off the power before smiling assurely to Anakin’s horrified face: “wait 10 secends.”

What a long 10 seconds!

When the patterns of trembling flags on the square were clear to see, Palpatine hit the right stabilizer to maximum almost to the same frequency of the flags, rebooted the system, and pushed the brake to its limit.

The right thruster was back online, though not quite on time. They slid across the ground, bringing down a statue of a human along the way, leaving a long scratch on the ground. Luckily, they came into a full stop before hitting any building.

***

A swarm of people came to them with Obi-Wan at the front.

“Crisis solved, yes, Anakin, but I still have to remind you, drive safely-” Obi-Wan nearly bit his tongue when he saw who was in the driver’s seat.

Palpatine stepped off the vehicle briskly, giving a helping hand to Anakin who looked green. “Master Kenobi, I am afraid Anakin hurt his arm and I had to take over the driving. I think he needs some medical attention.”

“B-but how did you...” Obi-Wan was still in shock.

“Some practice from my younger days. Not something worth mentioning.” Palpatine said before brushing the invisible dust off his robes lightly and greeted Mas Amedda and a bunch of officials following behind. The group moved away quickly.

Obi-Wan watched the crowds off for a long time before remembering his ill former apprentice’s existence who was still covering his mouth with a hand, trying not to dry heave. Obi-Wan didn’t remember ever seeing him like this. Even the concern for his friend couldn’t stop him from smiling. He approached the younger man.

“A pleasant trip I presume?” He asked. “I know you always like flying and I can see that was one of the most thrilling experiences even for you. Speak of it, the Chancellor has mentioned you are unwell. You sure you don’t want me to lend you some support?”

“I’m fine, Master. Everything is fine.” Anakin straightened himself immediately, although Obi-Wan swore he heard Anakin grumbled something when he walked stiffly towards the ship coming to pick them up. “It’s indeed important to drive safely.”

 

The End.


End file.
